Dispensing device for sheet material



July 2, 1940. A. c. sRuNwALD DISPENSING DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed July 19, 1959 July 2, 1940.

A. c. GRu'NwALn 2,206,320 Dxsrnusnm nxvIcE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed July 19, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 2, 1940. A. c; cRuNwAnD DISEIISIHG DEVICE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed July 19. 1959 3 Shets-Sheet 5 6 M 0 74 k mf f, d 5 3 7 ,J ma. w if,

Patented July 2, 1940 UNITEDSTATES N PATENT `OFFICE;

i Albert O. Grunwa1d,.River Forest, Ill., assigner to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City,

Utah, a corporation of Utah Applicatioamy 19, 1939, seriaiNo. 285,240

` 105 claims.` rc1. 164`s4.5`)

This invention relates generally `,to improve-f` t of rotation `of the feed rolls.

ments in dispensing devices for sheet material, and` has for a special object -to provide a device in which a tear-off knife is timer-controlled to 5x move from one position to another; 0

Otherv objects are: to provide a movableknife Wthfa timer for controlling it; to provide a knife `which is controlled by atimer of a time-stop mechanism of a dispensing device for sheetma- 101 terial; to provide a knife which is" moved `from 1 one position by means controlled by the act of `dispensing, and which is automatically restored to that position atthe end of the timing action `of a timer; to provide a combined signal and llftear-off meanswhich is operated by and ina predetermined relation to theactions of :a dispensing mechanism and a time-stopmechanism therefor;

to provide 4means by which the act of dispensing moves the knife and/or signal member to a `Visi ble and or operable position, and to provide means by which the movement of `a timer4controlled stop controls knife movement.

Objects, features and advantages" of the in-:j Vention will be set forth in a descriptionof the i I 0 i i forwardly of the roll 'Iis a throat plate 2t, the 25.;-

2li` drawings, and in said drawings l Figure 1 is a vertical sectiontaken substantiallyon line I-I ofFigure andlshowing the", tear-off knife in its retracted, inoperative -`and` invisible position, and with'the stopsreleased;

309; Figure 2 is a View similar to Figure 1, but,"

showing the knife in itsprojected,` operative and visible position, and locked therein with thestops Y in stopping engagement asatthe beginning f of;

thetiming action of the timer; i

` i Figure 3 is a vertical section taken approxi-"f mately on line 3--3 of Figurel, showing the knife in its retracted position;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken substan-y tially on line 4--4 of Figure 5 401 Figure 5 isan elevation of the inner mecha-y nism, the cover only having been shown insecing broken away; and` l 0 Figure 6 is a horizontal section `taken approxi`` 451mately on line 6-6 of Figurel.` 0 0 0 l i Referring to the drawings:

tion, certain parts ofthe inner mechanism `be- INumeral I indicates the back ofthe cabinet and numeral 2 the bottom thereof." The bottom and back are formed in one piece or section, as

best shown in Figure 4. The bottoni is" pressed outwardly and downwardlyto formta' depression 3 having slots 4. The slots are sopositioned'that dust or dirt rolls downwardly andzyoutwardly` `through them. The'depressedportion is "elonvgated, as shown in Figures 1 land 5, ina direction c transverse of thecabinet or parallel `to the axis The forward portion of the bottom is bentup as shown at vIi in Figures 4 and 5, so that its upper edge is arranged close to thev measuring 5- 0r feed roll 1, suitably journaled on an axis or i shaft or trunnions` 8. `The feed roll is circum- 0 I and bottom 2 and act as supports for the mech-3 anisms and as braces or reinforcements. Springs I'I acting'on the shaft ends or trunnions I3 yield ably urge the presser roll into operative relation p, Withthe paper I3.` The paper supply rollrests 201 on inclined supports, each pivoted as at I9 to the inner side of the corresponding upright plates I5andl6.

Arranged forwardly of the parts i-and` I0 and upper part of which` is provided with lingers 2|` entering grooves 22 of the presserroll to assist in threading the paper lbetween the rolls. As shown` in Figure 4, this element 20, with the elements 6 and I0, forma downwardlyleading 3011,

throat. The paper leads from between the rolls into this guiding throat. The lthroat plate 201 overlaps the front edges of the supporting plates I5, I6 and has flanges 23 (see Figure 1) engaging" the outer sides of the said plates as shown, and 35- is removably held by screws 24. The main feature of the `present invention relates toa member which may be considered to be a signal device and/or a tear-off knife. *In thisembodiment itperforms both functions, but mayperform either, alone. The tear-off knife Vis` mounted in any suitablemanner so that it is` movable to visible and invisible positions in rela4 i, tion to the user. u The member, whenin `its visible position, is outside of the cabinet, near or `at, 4540 the point of exit or deliverycf thepaper. As

a knife it may be considered to move to operative and inoperative positions in 4relation to the fed paper. The broad feature of the invention is the timing. of the movementof this knife.' In 50,11; the present embodiment the knife is so operated ing dispensing, and so as tobe moved from that l `positionby a timerat the end of thetiming action` i 0f the timer. It is understood, however, that since L 55 nthreaded into a cross-bar 3? extending between..

the plates I5 and t6. Arranged forwardly of the lthroat plate 2li (see Figures 4 and 5.-) and con-` nected to the .outer ends of the arms is a tearoiT knife plate 35 which may function alone `as..

a signal. In the preferred form of the inven-f tion it functions as a tear-off knife and signal,

The forward, end of each arm 5i (see-Figure 6) is bent inwardly as shown in 56, and `the knife is secured thereto by suitable fastening devices such as screws 31 (see Figure 5). plate 35` is slightly curved as shown, and` lies just forwardly of the throat-forming elementA 2li. The knife thus supported` is adapted. to swing` from one position to another. As shown in Fig'- ure 1 it is in inoperative and invisible position, and is swung to the position of Figure 2 in whichY it is visible and 'operatively positioned. VIt Wil-l. be noted that when the knife is inl its upper position its cuttingk edge isI at substantially" the same level as that of the lower edge ofV theA plate. 25, that is, at the lower end of the forward wall of the throat 22, or throat plate 29'.

The cover for the cabinet, is indicated at. 40,.

ff and hasr pins 4| entering openings in ears 42 at-v tached to the bottom and spaced inwardly from the front of the cabinet. Thel top of the cover `has a lock generally indicated at 43. which has a hook-shaped element 44 engageable with a keeper 5 45, as best shown in Figure 4. The cover canv be swung downwardly below the level of the bottom 2,1andy beingr L-shaped, acts as. a temporary support for the roll during servicing of the machine. When so swung its lower forward edge '46 engages the bottom 2 as a stoptoxhold' the cover in a shelf-forming position. It will, of course, be. understood that the cabinet is hung on the wall by means of fastening. devicesA pass.- ing throughkeyhole'slots 481,1(see Figure 5).

Referring now to the mechanism by' which the I dispensing means controls the knifeto move it to one of its positions as dispensing occurs', andi to timing means by which the knife is. .moved to.r its other position. In this embodiment the ar-4 rangement is such that as dispensing occursthe. knife is brought from an invisible, inoperative position to a visible, operative position', whereat it remains only for a predetermined time'` It will be'understood that it is not necessary to' haveA the knife visible, although it constitutes one,` phase of this invention.A It is enough, of course,` if the knife is brought to operativev position,4 in' this case during dispensing. In this case"also. the knife is brought toinoperative, invisibleposi tion at-the end yof a timing period, which period begins in this'embodiment immediately followtherein. A stop mechanism of substantiallythe'v same structure is covered in an application off? Birr, Serial No. 275,450.

Referring nrst to Figuresv 1 and 6. lA gear50V is suitably pivoted on the outer face of the plate ;1l5. `The pivot for the gear is indicatedMatEl# The;

vThe gear has a stop arm 52 movable therewith.

Meshing with this gear is a small spur-gear 53 on the shaft 8 of the feed or measuring roll l2. When the feed roll is moved in clockwise direcn tion during dispensing the gear 5t is moved in counter-clockwise direction from its initial posiltion in Figure l, at which time the stop is released.

'Ihe stop arm 52l engages the bottom part of a slide stop generally indicated at 55. The face 56 of the arm 52 engages a flange 5l of the slide,

` as in Figure 2, to limit further withdrawal of the material. This engagement is shown in Fig ure 2. The gear or the arm 52 has a crank pin 59` passing through a slot 60 of a link 6l, which link, is pivoted on the element 52 which is an extension of the ange 5l. The slide 55 is suitably laterally guided as at 65 and 65, and the slide v is held against the face of the plate l5 Vby means of an extension 66 of bracket 5l secured tov plate l5.l Thisl bracket supports a vacuum cup 68A and the slide stop 55 hasa vac- "uum' cup 69- engageable with thecup- 58., and

` these cups constitute-a vacuum timer.

The operation of the dispensing-controlled,"

time-stop mechanism is as. follows: Referring to Figurek 1 which shows an` initial position of the parts, it will be seen that when the: arm 52' is rotated in counterclockwise direction the crank pin 59 will eventually engage the bottom of the slot to movek the slide stop 55` downwardly to the position shown in'Figure 2 and' into the path ofthe arm 52. On continued rotation of* ther arm, said arm engages the slide stopl 5.5, as shown in Figure 2, to limity dispensing.y As the slide stop moves downwardly theV cups are brought together and are vacuum attached. After the pin 59 and link 6| have pulled the slide down, the slideremains immovable andthe pin rides upwardly in the slot 60-to the position of Figurev 2.v` The vacuum is graduallyreleased by acontrolled entrance of air through .an opening 15, and the speed of air entry t0 release `the .cups isv controlled by regulating'r screwrv T6. It will" be seen in Figure 2, a timer-controlled, means is provided,

inv this instance a latching ,mechanism The Y latching mechanism comprises a gravity-operable latch 82 weighted as at 83. to fall lby gravity to latching position. VThe 'latch head is indicated at 84 and this head engages a lateral extension or keeper 85 of the arm-30; The latch is normally held againstl downward gravity; movement (see Figure 1) by means of a'wire or rod 86 pivotally`v attached as at 8T to thefweighted portion of the latch and passing through an opening 83 of the shelf-'1U of the slide stop `55. The wire passes.` loosely through .this opening 88f andl thewire bent at the top as shown at 89 to form a stop` which is engaged by the shelf 'I0 as the slide stop rises (moves from stopposition) to pull the Wire upwardly and raise the weighted latch to the position inFigure 1. It has previously been eX- plained that the spring 12 raises the slide stop 55, and therefore with it the Wire 85 and Weighted side of the latch lever 82. It will be seen that no latching can occur While the slide stop is in its fullyretracted (upper) position and therefore `as long as this condition continuesthe knife can be moved independently.` i

Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the` knife, through the arm 3l, is normally heldin retracted position, invisible,non-signaling posil tion, by means of `a spring $0 so that just as soon" as the latch is released the knife automatically moves to the invisible, inoperative position of Figure 1. l l

`:The measuring roll or feedroll is hand-oper;-

` ated by means of a disk 93"which is attached to the shaft or to the end of the roll l and projects through an opening'ill in the front cover (see Figure 3) The trunnion orlshaft 8 of the measuring roll passes non-frictionally through a slot 95 of the arm 3i, inasmuch as the arm lies betWeenthe outer faceof the plate I1 andthe inner face of the feed roll operating disk. The

bottom of the slot engages" the shaft 8` to limit` upward motion of the knife.

As before stated, in this embodiment the tearis, that the knife would be normally visible or in the position of Figure 2 and would move to an invisible, but operative, position during dispens` l Ving. `I do not, therefore, intend to entirelyllimit` the invention to 'the particular sequence, but` claim broadly any mechanism in which the movement of the knife or visible signal is controlled `by a timer.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a dispensing cabinet having dispensing means and a time-stop mechanism therefor, a tear-off knife movable from one position to another, means operated by the dispensing means for moving the knife from one position as a result of dispensing, and means in part operated bythe time-stop mechanism for restoring the knife to said position at the endof the timing action of the timer of said time-stop mechanism.

2. In a sheet dispensing cabinet having feeding means, a combined signal and tear-off member adapted to move from visible to invisible positions, means by which the feeding means moves the member to visible position, and means by which said member is automatically moved to invisible position at the end of a predetermined time period.

3. In a dispensing cabinet for sheetlmaterial having dispensing means and a time-stop mechanism therefor, a tear-olf knife adapted to' automatically move from one position to another, and means controlled by the timer of the time-stop mechanism for releasing the knife for automatic movement at the end of the timing action of the l timer.

4. In a dispensing cabinet for `sheet material having feeding means,` a tear-off knife adapted to move automatically from a visible to an invisible position, a timer and means by which the feeding means during feeding sets the timer for independent timing action, means for releasably holding the knife in visible position, and means operated by the timer as it isset to hold the knife in operative position and to release said holding means at the end. of the timing action of the timer.

5. Aycabinet for dispensing sheet material having feeding means, a knife and means mounting it to move from. an invisible position within the cabinet to a visible position outside the cabinet,

` means operated by the feeding means for' moving the knife outwardly to visible tear-off position as dispensing occurs`,`means for automatically moving the rknife to invisible position, a time-stop mechanism for said feeding means, and means controlled by said time-stop mechanism for holding the `knife in its tear-off position for a time period immediately following dispensing, and for releasing the knife `for automatic movement to invisible position at the end of the timing action of the timer. f

` 6." A cabinet for dispensing sheet material having feeding means, alknife and `means pivoting it so that it may move from an invisible position within the cabinet to a visible position outside the cabinet, means operated by the feeding means i for moving the knife outwardly to visible tear-off position as dispensing occurs, means for auto- `maticallymoving the knife to invisible position,

a time-stop mechanism for said feeding means, a latch adapted to move automatically to latching position for holding` the knife in its visible position, and means "controlled bly the time-stop "mechanism for releasing said latch at the end of i the` timing action `o-f` the timer.`

"7. A cabinet for dispensing sheet material having feeding means", means operable by said feeding means and having a crank pin, a knife and means pivoting it so it can be moved from an invisible position to a visible position, said pin being adapted during dispensing movement of the feeding means to engage and move said tearoff knife to visible tear-off position and thereafter release the knife for independent motion away from such position.

i 8. A cabinet for dispensing sheet material having feeding means, a tear-off `knife to which the feeding means delivers, said knife being initially invisible withn the cabinet, means mountl the first stop and adapted to be automatically moved out of said path, means operated by the feeding means for moving the second stop into the path of the first and then releasing the second stop for independent movement out of said path,

timing means for said second stop which is set` for automatic timing when said stop is moved into the path of the first stop, said timing means being adapted to hold the stop in said path for a predetermined time period after Which said second stopy is released, means operated` by said dispensing means for moving the knife to visible ttf - position as a result of dispensing, and means controlled by said second stop as a result of itsmoveknife normally disposed between said throat and j said cover and ninvisibly within the cabinet, means mounting the knife to move to a visible position below the cabinet in tear-off relation to material delivered from the throat, means for automatically moving the knife from said visible to said invisible position, a time-stop mechanism for said roll, means for automaticallylocking the knife in its visible position, and means controlled by the time-stop mechanism for releasing said locking' means at the end of the timing action of the timer.

10. A dispensing cabinet for sheet material having a feed roll, a throat for leading paper out of the bottom of the cabinet and into which the feed roll delivers, a tear-off knife normally in,

visible within the cabinet, means mounting the knife to move to a visible position below the cabinet in tear-off relation to material delivered from the throat, means for automatically moving the knife from said'visible to said invisible position, a timenstop mechanism forsaid roll, means for automatically locking the knife in its Visible po-v sition, and means controlled by the ltime-stop mechanism `for releasing said locking means at the end of the timing action of the timer.

1l. A cabinet for dispensing sheet material havingy inner and outer casings, the outer casing having a front wall, a pair of feed rolls rst and second, a plate arranged between and spaced from thel nrst roll and said front wall of said outer casing whereby it is disposed to form a throat downwardly through which thepaper is projected and to form a forwardly disposed housing space, 'a tear-off knife normally housed in said housing space, and means for automatically causing the knife to move from said housing space to a visible position below the cabinet, Whereat paper projected from `the throat may be engaged with and torn off by said visibly placed knife.

12. In a device of the class described, a knife and means beyond the control of the user by which the knife is automatically moved from an initial to a final position, a timer adapted for automatic timing action after setting, and means by which said timer controls thel knife to allow said automatic movement from said initial position only at the end of the timing action of the timer.

13. In a device of the class described, a knife and means beyond the control of the user by which the knife is automatically moved from an initial to a final position, a timer adapted for automatic timing action afterv setting, means by which said timer controls the knife to allow saidautomatic movement from: said initial position only at the end of the timing action of the timer,- and manually operable means for setting the timer for automatic action.

14. In a sheet dispensing cabinet having dispensing means, a rknife and means beyond the control of the user by Which the knife is automatically moved from an initial to a final position, means ope-rated by the dispensing means for moving the knife to said initial position, means for releasably holding the knife in said initial position, a timer adapted for automatic timing action after setting, and means controlled by said timer to release said holding means at the end of timingvaction of the timer.

15. In a device of the class described, a knife and a' spring which automatically moves said knife from an initial to a final position, a timer adapted for automatic timing action after setting, and means by which said timer controls the knife to allow said automatic movement by said spring from said initial position only at the end of the timing action of the timer.

ALBERT C. GRUNWALD.

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